A NEW government initiative to prevent the use of Thais as nominees in business kicked off today (Aug. 1) with the Commerce Ministry’s Department of Business Development expanding scrutiny from just the initial company registration to include shareholder and director structures after this is done, Naewna newspaper said.
Ms. Lalida Periswiwatana, deputy spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office, said Order No. 2/2569 on the Central Registry of Partnerships and Companies was issued to close loopholes enabling businesses to make shareholder changes or authorised signatures after passing the initial screening.
Under the new measure cases involving foreign investors or those with signing authority must submit a letter explaining the investment, along with bank statements for the past three months of the Thai investor making the investment and the representative or legal entity receiving the investment, according to established criteria. This will allow for verification of the source of investment funds and the true investment capacity, increasing transparency in business registration and prevent the misuse of nominee shareholders.
The key point of this measure is to expand scrutiny to cover the entire lifecycle of a legal entity, not just the date of company inception, but also cases where there are changes in shareholders, directors, or authorised signatories. These are loopholes that may be used to circumvent previous measures.
The government aims to create fair competition in business and protect businesses that operate honestly, not to restrict foreign investment that is conducted legally, she said.
The government is also moving forward with linking data between the Department of Business Development, the Land Department, and related agencies to increase the efficiency of inspection, prevent the misuse of companies as a means of illegal land ownership, and verify the identity of shareholders through the civil registration database.
From today onwards, the Department of Business Development will add a disclaimer to copies of shareholder lists to ensure that the public understands that these documents are merely records kept by the registrar and are not certificates of current shareholder status. This must be determined from the shareholder register legally maintained by the company.
Currently, Thailand has over 1 million operating legal entities, and 119,116 companies have foreign shareholders not exceeding 49.99%. This information is for risk assessment and screening purposes only and does not mean that all companies are nominee entities or are engaging in illegal activities. The action will be considered on a case-by-case basis, based on evidence and facts, Lalita mentioned.
“The government affirms its commitment to promoting a transparent, fair, and competitive investment climate, ready to facilitate both Thai and foreign investors conducting business legally, while simultaneously preventing the use of Thai nationals as proxies and actions that exploit the country’s economic system, in order to build long-term confidence for businesses and the public,” she said.
CAPTIONS:
Top and Front Page: A big crackdown on nominee businesses on Koh Phangan on May 13, 2026. Photo – Naewna
Insert: Deputy Spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office Ms. Lalida Periswiwatana. Photo – Naewna
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